The 50 Best Alt-Country Albums of All Time (Paste)

[Tequila Cowboy]

https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/ ... e.html?a=1

Decoration Day comes in at #5. Sort of a broad swatch represented here but Alt Country is a bullshit descriptor in the first place.

[Iowan]

https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/ ... e.html?a=1

Decoration Day comes in at #5. Sort of a broad swatch represented here but Alt Country is a bullshit descriptor in the first place.

The nomenclature really takes a beating, but what the hell else do you call it?

[Tequila Cowboy]

https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/ ... e.html?a=1

Decoration Day comes in at #5. Sort of a broad swatch represented here but Alt Country is a bullshit descriptor in the first place.

The nomenclature really takes a beating, but what the hell else do you call it?

No I tend to agree. It's almost like a bunch of micro-genres under an umbrella blanket.

There are a lot of good things about this list though. The usual some things are higher than they should be stuff but pretty solid top to bottom. I was impressed that Jason & the Scorchers made the list. I think they're often overlooked as progenitors to the genre.

[4sooner]

I think Strangerš Almanac is a glaring omission. Good to see Green On Red on there.

[Tequila Cowboy]

I think Strangerš Almanac is a glaring omission. Good to see Green On Red on there.

Slobberbone and Blue Mountain are tough omissions.

[John A Arkansawyer]

Interesting. I've seen six of those bands (counting Bill Malonee for Vigilantes of Love and the Louris/Olson tour and Olson solo--which is where I saw Malonee--for the Jayhawks) and heard six of those records. The only shared ones are DBT and the Jayhawks, and I would've picked different records for both of them.

Bill Malonee is still touring, right? The record I got by him really knocked me out, and I sure liked his performance that day.

[Tequila Cowboy]

Interesting. I've seen six of those bands (counting Bill Malonee for Vigilantes of Love and the Louris/Olson tour and Olson solo--which is where I saw Malonee--for the Jayhawks) and heard six of those records. The only shared ones are DBT and the Jayhawks, and I would've picked different records for both of them.

Bill Malonee is still touring, right? The record I got by him really knocked me out, and I sure liked his performance that day.

You'd pick a different Jayhawks record? To me Hollywood Town Hall is by far their best with Tomorrow the Green Grass a distant second although still a very good record.

[Iowan]

It seems like SRO or TDS gets the slot for DBT on "best of" lists, so it made me very excited to see DD get the Top 5 inclusion. It's probably my favorite album of all time.

It was a pretty good list but how in the ever living hell was Todd Snider left out? Slobberbone should have been on there too.

[Clams]

Obviously everyone's gonna have their own nitpicks, but that's a pretty strong list.

[Iowan]

Obviously everyone's gonna have their own nitpicks, but that's a pretty strong list.

There was no McMurtry either.

Ok, I'm starting to change my opinion on the list a little. They had fucking Bright Eyes in there.

[Tequila Cowboy]

Obviously everyone's gonna have their own nitpicks, but that's a pretty strong list.

There was no McMurtry either.

Ok, I'm starting to change my opinion on the list a little. They had fucking Bright Eyes in there.

Yeah, no McMurtry is just wrong. I like that Bright Eyes record though, pretty much the only thing I like from Oberst but I still play it from time to time.

[Duke Silver]

Not one but two Avett albums! Good lord.

[Clams]

Obviously everyone's gonna have their own nitpicks, but that's a pretty strong list.

There was no McMurtry

Yeah that's a problem.

[bellevillemusic]

Off the top of my head. I'm certain I'm forgetting a few, too.

blue mountain
two dollar pistols
peter bruntnell
marah
deadstring brothers
tim easton
james mcmurtry
the blue shadows
the sadies
richmond fontaine
volebeats
the gourds

[John A Arkansawyer]

Interesting. I've seen six of those bands (counting Bill Malonee for Vigilantes of Love and the Louris/Olson tour and Olson solo--which is where I saw Malonee--for the Jayhawks) and heard six of those records. The only shared ones are DBT and the Jayhawks, and I would've picked different records for both of them.

Bill Malonee is still touring, right? The record I got by him really knocked me out, and I sure liked his performance that day.

You'd pick a different Jayhawks record? To me Hollywood Town Hall is by far their best with Tomorrow the Green Grass a distant second although still a very good record.

Yeah, I'd go with Tomorrow the Green Grass. Nothing wrong with Hollywood Town Hall. And it might be that I've got a special place in my heart of Tomorrow the Green Grass because my ex turned me on to the Jayhawks with it. We courted, such as we did, to that record. I still have her copy, with a little post-it note inside saying...well, enough of that, but yeah, I might be biased about it. And I feel a little bad about when we saw Mark Olson. When I got his autograph on the new record after the show, I tried to tell him what I was telling you now. I didn't think that he'd just broken up with Miss Williams. Looking back, that was tactless.

[Iowan]

I like Tomorrow the Green Grass a lot, but Hollywood Town Hall is the iconic Jayhawks album.

Loved their choice of 1372 for Lucero. I realize that is not a popular opinion here.

[Cubfan06]

Of course nobody is going to be in 100% agreement with any best of list. Although, there are a couple of things that I am not familiar with, I think that Paste did a pretty solid job.

I agree with the sentiment that Deadstring Brothers is an omission that deserved better.

I find it deserved that they put two Ryan Adams on there, however Jacksonville City Nights lands on the list and not Cold Roses?! Cold Roses is a fucking masterpiece! That would easily be top 20 on my list.

My brother Iowan, we have to agree to disagree on Bright Eyes "I'm Wide Awake It's Morning." That album falls into a top 20 favorite album of the 21st century thus far for me. So I believe that it is fairly rated.

I like Justin Townes Earle and a few of us on here saw him open up for Jason Isbell at a wonderful, small dingy club called the Double Door on the Harlem River Blues album. He was great and that album is good. But I don't feel as though it belongs on this list, yet alone at #23.

[Duke Silver]

That 16 Horsepower album is kinda hard to find but worth seeking out if you're in the mood for dark, old testament folk. You can stream the whole thing on Youtube:

[John A Arkansawyer]

I like Tomorrow the Green Grass a lot, but Hollywood Town Hall is the iconic Jayhawks album.

Just like Sgt. Pepper's and the White Album? Neither of which is the Beatles' best. But it'd sure be my number two choice! (Unlike those two Beatles records, which are like fifth and seventh in today's tally).

[Zip City]

List fails without a Felice Brothers album. I also dislike multiple entries from the same artists

[dime in the gutter]

i have listened to less than 1/2 of those records.

[Zip City]

Also hate any article or writer that insists MMJ is or was a southern rock band. I've never considered them part of this scene.

[dime in the gutter]

did i miss isbell?

[Kudzu Guillotine]

Also hate any article or writer that insists MMJ is or was a southern rock band. I've never considered them part of this scene.

Not on the list but I feel the same way about Little Feat. I've also seen Foghat included on Southern Rock compilations. I know both bands have a sound that folks may associate with Southern Rock but I've never thought of either of them that way. Thus is the issue with attempting to label music.

I recall an article from the Southern Rock Opera era that lumped My Morning Jacket, Kings of Leon and Drive-By Truckers together as "Southern Rock". As best I can remember, none of them were happy with that classification.

[Duke Silver]

did i miss isbell?

17

[Clams]

As pointed out by Rev Matt on FB, Trinity Sessions by cowboy junkies should be on there. I agree 100%. Maybe even top 10.

[John A Arkansawyer]

Also hate any article or writer that insists MMJ is or was a southern rock band. I've never considered them part of this scene.

Not on the list but I feel the same way about Little Feat. I've also seen Foghat included on Southern Rock compilations. I know both bands have a sound that folks may associate with Southern Rock but I've never thought of either of them that way.

That sort of shit keeps deserving bands out of the list. Tom Petty. R.E.M. 13rh Floor Elevators. Butthole Surfers. Folks like that.

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

glad to see Joe Henry's Kindness of the World made the list, such a great album

[Kudzu Guillotine]

Also hate any article or writer that insists MMJ is or was a southern rock band. I've never considered them part of this scene.

Not on the list but I feel the same way about Little Feat. I've also seen Foghat included on Southern Rock compilations. I know both bands have a sound that folks may associate with Southern Rock but I've never thought of either of them that way.

That sort of shit keeps deserving bands out of the list. Tom Petty. R.E.M. Folks like that.

If the list is comprised of the usual Skynyrd, Allmans, Hatchet, Marshall Tucker, etc. I'm not sure that either R.E.M. or Petty fit. Like the Truckers or even the Black Crowes, they may fit in the sense that they're Southern artists who play rock n' roll but I've seen few Southern Rock lists that include R.E.M. unless it's just to shake things up and/or to piss off those that don't think of them in those terms.

[jr29]

Pretty strong list, nice to see some Dave Alvin recognition.
Other than the omission of McMurtry....Kevin Gordon's "Down To The Well" is the one album that should absolutely have been on the list. Todd Snider, Keith Richards and Levon Helm covered songs from it. That should be enough.